Playtime: Play & Co.

We ended February with a trip to a new local indoor play place! Play & Co. is in the beautiful Hidenwood neighborhood beside the Christopher Newport University campus in Newport News. Maxine and Minerva had a blast!

When we walked in, we were greeted by the co-owner, Matt, and he immediately made us feel welcome! He explained the pricing ($10 for an all day pass, $8 for the second kid if I’m remembering correctly) and he mentioned the coffee bar for $3…I couldn’t turn down helping myself to coffee for the entire time I was there! He also told me that there is free WiFi (YESSSSSS). Matt asked Maxine what her favorite toys were and he even showed her around! Awesome right?!

Play and co. had different areas for different toys. I was pleasantly surprised with how organized things are. All the bungalows are very pleasing to the eye and they clearly show what the different areas are. Maxine and Minerva enjoyed the toy dessert shop the most!

We can’t wait to go back to Play & Co! They have a full calendar on their website for the different theme days that they have. They also have it all written on the chalkboard in the cafe area as well. Bring your laptop, grab some coffee, and let the kids have fun playing at Play & Co!!

Check out Play & Co. on Facebook and Instagram!

Playtime: Mary’s Park Sensory Playground

Minerva turned one on Wednesday, so we decided to go check out the Sensory Playground at Peninsula Town Center.

There is highly interactive sensory and tactile play available. The park is Wheelchair-accessible too! The surface is playground rubber.

There was plenty of seating around the playground and some seating was in a shady area. The playground is surrounded by bushes and secured fencing.

I loved that the Minerva could climb some fixtures on her own. I did have to go after my brave baby at some points, haha!

The gravity bowl was so fun for Maxine once she understood how it worked. Her first go ended with her SCREAMING for me to help her stop. By the time we left, she had been back on several times.

The park was really fun! The bathrooms were a block over from the playground, but there was a drinking fountain in the park so that was convenient. We can’t wait to go again! We will have to check out their play fountain next time too.

Also, there is a smartphone app that goes along with the play area! You can listen to the Hans Christian Anderson stories that the park’s themes are based on: The Little Mermaid and The Ugly Duckling.  The stories are offered in 16 languages!

Mary’s Park Sensory Playground is an outdoor playground at Peninsula Town Center that was built in partnership with the Peninsula School for Autism.  

Playtime: Windsor Castle Park Natural Playscape

Smithfield, Virginia is my hometown and such a beautiful place! Maxine is at an age where she can enjoy playing on her own so I decided to take her to check out the new Windsor Castle Park Natural Playscape.

She loved it! I loved that they had a side for younger children. We stayed over there today.

The entire area was beautifully shaded by trees. It didn’t feel as miserably hot as the thermometer read.

This slide was the perfect size for Maxine and she went on it several times. The other slide on the big kid size is 30 feet!

Max had a blast and we will definitely be back soon!

Tutorial: No-Sew Ring Sling

Sometimes this question will pop up: Ring sling or wrap? My answer to that question is BOTH. You can use two sling rings to turn your short wrap (size 2 or 3 for me…my base is an 8) to make a no-sew ring sling! Long explanation not needed here–a no-sew ring sling is just a ring sling  that isn’t sewn together. It is secured the same way that a regular ring sling is secured, with sling rings!

This photo tutorial is going to show how to make the no-sew, but not how to put the child in the sling. The video at the bottom will show how to put the baby in! The photo ring sling tutorial is right here-ring sling tutorial.

Here is how to make the no-sew ring sling:

First, get your two sling rings (I am using size large) and your wrap (I am using a size 3 Bijou Wear Blast Firecracker).

Measure out how long you want your tail to be by wrapping the wrap around you with one side over your shoulder and the other across the front to meet the shoulder.

Gather the fabric at your shoulder by your collarbone and that spot is where you want your rings to be.

Pull the fabric through the rings.

Once you pull the fabric through both of the rings, pull the short end back through one of the rings (just like regularly threading a ring sling). Here’s a gif to show what I mean:

Click here

 

Hopefully that helped explain what I meant!

Put the sling on your shoulder now with the short fabric tail under the long tail that you will be working with. Make sure that the top ring is further back than the bottom one. I’m pointing to it in that picture up there.

Now to thread the sling just like you normally do a ring sling! Gather the fabric in front of you (I pleat it). 

Pull the fabric through both rings.

Very pretty right? At this point I let it all hang down to make sure my fabric is not twisted.

Thread the fabric through the bottom ring.

Take your fingers through the threaded fabric to make sure that it is not twisted.

It should make a cute looking puff of untwisted fabric.

Pull the fabric back the same direction that it came from to get the sling all secured.

Tada! Sling!

Tuck the extra hanging fabric from the beginning of the no-sew part of the sling in the spread back pass and you are done! Now you are ready to put your baby in the sling!

Maxine always loves going uppy front.

Here is the video: